Ball and pin carrier



M. o. BERG 2,293,965

BALL AND PIN CARRIER Aug. '25 194,2,y

2 sheets-.sheet -i ug. 25, 1942. M. o. BERG BALL AND PIN CARRIER FiledApril 12,'1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 25, 1942l UNITED STATESvPATENT OFF-ICE 1,293,965 BALL AND yrnv ommen Maurice 0. Berg, Chicago,Ill.

Application April 12, 1941, Serial No. 388,232

9 Claims. (Cl. 273-43) This invention relates in general to bowlingalleys and is more particularly' described as a A i will tend fto speedup the game, reducing the bowling ball and bowling pin carrier used inconnection with standard bowling alley equipment which is operated fromthe pit at the rear or a bowling alley.

f As now operated, the balls and pins are lifted manually from the pitat the rear of a bowling alley to deposit the ball upon the ball returnrack and the pins upon the carrier oi the pin setting equipment.

The present invention provides a carrier for receiving a bowling balland from-1 to 10 bowling pins in the pit at the rear end of a bowlingalley, and by counter-weighting the carrier, provides means for manuallyraising the ball and pins to the approximate level oi the ball returntrack andclosely adjacent the mechanical pin setter with a minimummanual eiort.

By use of this equipment, one pin setter is able to take care of twoadjacent alleys in less time and with less manual labor than is nowrequired to set pins on one alley.

This invention consists in the provision of a ball and pin carrier as anaddition to or an attachment for bowling alley equipment, using theautomatic pin setting device having a raised holder in which the pinsknocked down are deposited after each ball is thrown, although theattachment may also be applied to a new equipment of this type.

other objects oi the invention will be described in the speciiicationand will be apparent from the accompanying drawings in which Fig. l is aplan view of the pit ends of apair ci adjacent bowling alleysillustrating this invention as applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a perspective of the under side of a ball and pin carrier asshown in Fig.- 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view as taken on the line @-3 of Fig. 1, showingthe ball and pin carrier in receiving or lowered position; and

Fig. 4 is a view showing the movable parts of Fig. 3 in a raised ordischarging position.

A bowling alley pin setter is required to lift a bowling ball weighingapproximately 16 pounds to a height of about 3 feet to the ball returnrack each time the ball is played and to collect and deposit the tenbowling pins each weighing approximately 3 pounds to the level of thepin setting equipment. This requires from three to six v manualoperations for each time the pins are ocked down and reset. By providinga counter-weighted carrier, these numerous and laboriautomatic operationis substituted so that one attendant can easily set pins on two alleys.This time and labor, making possible a saving in the lailbor costs andincreased revenue for the bowling a eys.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings,I the pit end or aregulation vbowling alley i@ is shown having gutters il, side walls l2.a rear wall i3 protected by a bumper pad Il, a ball return track l5 andproviding a. pit I6 above a. iioor il at the rear end of the alley forreceiving the pins or deadwood knocked down by the ball* and the ballafter it has been thrown.

A number of bowling pins 20 are set upon the alley in regular formationto be knocked down by a ball 2| and above the setting position is anautomatic pin setting device comprising a movable holder 22 which israised aboye the alley, the pins are deposited therein and the settingdevice is lowered, automatically positioning the pins on the surface ofthe alley in a well known manner.

A The ball and pin carrier of this invention is adapted to nt into thepit at the rear of each bowling alley and comprises a bottom 24 formedof fiber, wood, or light sheet metal and having opposite upright ends 25with front and rear sides 26 and 21`secured to the bottom by springhinges 28. In its pit position, the sides are supported' in partiallyinclined position by blocks 2S.

One side 26 is supported with its upper edge just v obstruction to theball or to the pins from the i alley. At the free endof each lever whichextends to the rear'of the pit is a hand grip 32, and adjacent the endis a pivotal connection 33 with the adjacent end 25 of the carrier.

Connected to the lever and projecting oppositely from the pivoted end isan arm 34 upon which a counter-weight 35 is slidable and adjustable.Adjustment is provided so that the counter balance may be variedeasilyto equalize, over-balance or under-balance the weight of thecarrier and contents and thus to accommodate balls and pins oi diierentweight.

The rear side 21 of the carrier may be connected to the lever 30adjacent the handle by a link 31 pivoted at the ends thereto -so thatwhen ous manual operations are reduced and a semi- 5B Ythe carrier israised by the handle. ,the side 2l will also be raised. At this time,the front lside 2i will extend under the holder 22 of the pin settingdevice. When the carrier is raised, the rear side 21 is raised, thustending to prevent accidentaldislodgment of the pins or balls therefrom,and the close engagement with the movable holder 22 facilitates thetransfer of the pins to the holder 22 and the balls from the carrier.

to the track I5.

To adjust the position of the counter-weight on the arm 34, a rod 42 ispivoted at one end to the weight and at the other end to a hand lever 43which is pivoted at its lower end to the carrier mounting lever 30. Atoothed segment 44 is secured to the lever 30 at the base ot-'the handlever, and a spring pressed latch 45 has a grip near that of the handlever 43, so that the lever and latch may be manually engaged and thecounter-weight easily and quickly adjusted and set in position tobalance one or more of the balls or pins in the carrier. v

One weight 35 may have a more or less flxed position along its arm 34but may be adjustably set in any desired location along the arm by abolt or set screw 36. By having the weights thus adjustable, the carrierand its contents may be most easily counter-balanced, and the counter-1balance varied for different loads.

Instead of the counter-weight projecting forwardly from the pivoted endof the lever 30, any other suitable counter-weight mayv be employedsuch, for example, as a spring at the pivot 3l engaging the lever, or acable supported weight attached at or near the free end of the lever andextending upwardly therefrom in any well known manner.

When this construction is ,applied to a pair of adjacent bowling alleys,an attendant usually sits upon a rail 4U at the top of the wall 20between the alleys,liting or throwing his feet from one side to theother to avoid the balls and the iiying pins as they are struck by theballs, and ,so that he may step into the carriers for gathering thepinsand balls therein. At the bottom .of the carrier is a pad 4i of fabricof sound deadening material. This attendant may reach down from eitherside of the wall, adjust the position of the weight, if desired, graspthe handle end of the lever on the other side thereof and thus raise theentire carrier and its contents to the approximate level of the pinholder and ball track.

It is apparent that various other changes in the construction,combination, and arrangementof the parts may be made for carrying outthe purpose 'and object of this invention without departing from thespirit and scope thereof.

I claim:

1. The combination with a bowling ailey having a ball and pin receivingpit, a movable normally raised pin setting helder, and a raised ballreturn track, of a ball and pin carrier to fit in the pit, and meanscomprising levers pivoted at the inner sides of the alley and pivotallymounting the carrier thereon for movement from the pit approximately tothe height of the holder and track.A

`2. A bowling alley attachment comprising a ball and pin carrier to fitloosely in the pit at the end of the alley, and comprising levers eachpivoted at one end at each side of an alley and pivoted intermediate itsends to the carrier for for manual horizontal transfer to the ball trackand pin setter of the alley.

3. A bowling alleyf attachment comprising a ball and pin carrier to restin' the pit at the end Aoi! the alley, and means manually movable by anoperator in the pit comprising levers mounted at the sides of the alleyand pivoted to the carrier for raising the carrier to a predeterminedheight approximately that of the ball return track and raised pin setterof the alley.

4. In a bowling alley attachment, a ball and pin carrier positioned inthe end pit, means comprising a lever at each side pivoted at one end tothe side oi an alley and pivotally connected to the carrier for raisingand lowering it from and to :the pit to the approximate level of theball track and raised pin holder of the alley, and a counter-weight'connected to each lever for counter-balancing thecarrier and itscontents.

5. A bowling alley accessory comprising a ball and pin carrier for theend pit, mounting means the carrier.

comprising levers manually operable from the inside of the pit pivotedat one end to the side wall of the alley and near the other end to thecarrier and adapted to raise the carrier approximately to the level ofthe ball track and raised pin holder of the alley, and adjustablecounterweight means connected to the levers for variably.counter-balancing the carrier.

6..In a bowling alley attachment, a ball and pin carrier for the endpit, hinged front and rear sides for the carrier, manually movable meansactuated from the inside of the pit for moving the carrier from and tothe pit, and supporting blocks at the front and rear of the pit forholding the said sides of the carrier inclined when it is seatedtherein.v

'7. In a bowling alley accessory, a ball and pin carrier for the endpit, means manually operable from the inside of the pit for moving thecarrier from the pit, the front side of the carrier being hingedthereto, and a block in the front of the pit tovsupport the side inraised position with its top above the bottom of the gutters along thesides of the alley.

8. In a b owling alley attachment, a ball arid pin carrier for the endpit, means manually operable from the inside of the pit and comprising alever for moving the carrier from and to the pit, the rear side of thecarrier being hinged thereto, and a hinged link connecting the rear sideand the lever and operative to incline the side partially in the pitposition and to raise it more nearly to an erecting position when thecarrier is raised.

9. In bowling alley equipment, the combination with an alley having sidegutters, an end pit, and a raisable pin setting holder, of a ball andpin pit carrier, means manually operable from within the pit for raisingthe carrier from and returning it to the pit, the carrier comprisinghinged front and rear sides, the front side swinging downwardly andengaging below the rear end of pin holder in its raised position anddisposed in the pit in lowered position, and the rear side beingconnected to and inclined upwardly by the said carrier raising means inthe raised position of MAURICE O. BERG.

